Gozenram
'Gozenram'Gozenram is also known as "Gozenran" in other dialects (Zardezi: tr. Gozénram) is called the City of Spiders. It is well named for the ruling Beylerbey is a devout student of The Spider's priesthood and has outlawed the harming of any spider on pain of death; and so the creatures roam freely and their webs hang in every alley and in every rafter. The city is bright and colorful. Its worn and dusty sandstone streets lay between meandering rows of town houses covered in pale, yellow stucco and mosaics of glass. The rooftops brim with glazed pots with geometric painted upon them hold greenery and flowers. Silken pennants in navy and darkest orange line main thoroughfares: reminders of the Beylerbey's wealth and power. The city boasts numerous beautiful landmarks, chief among them being the Silent Garden, home of The Spider's priesthood. It is a jungle oasis, surrounded by a maze of carved jade walls, its entrance complex being an octagonal temple of pink marble, domed in gold. Normal lay worshipers never step into the maze, but it is rumored that beneath the Silent Garden is a web of chambers and treasuries, all booby-trapped. Beautiful but usually avoided is the Dark Pool, an inverted ziggurat seemingly made from a single, colossal piece of glossy obsidian that is filled with cool, fresh water. Those who completely submerge themselves in the Dark Pool vanish, and while most are never heard from again, a few emerge years later, having been schooled in the ways of Ashur-Ram the Bone Wizard. Government Gozenram and its territory is governed by a class of merchant-nobility called Beys. Each Bey is responsible for one or more of the sprawling plantations of the Madaharine Basin. Furthermore the Beys enjoy monopolistic rights over the city's docks, buildings, and a number of industries such as warehousing and mills. Freemen wishing to run a business, whether it's an artisan's workshop, a tavern, or a storefront must deal with whichever Bey owns the property. In exchange for the incomes derived from these rights, the Beys are responsible for the defense of the city, and they finance Gozenram's fleet of orange-sailed Triremes and the mercenary patrols that roam the countryside. The leader of the Beys descends from the Satrap installed by the Pharaohs of the Great Kingdom. When that greater nation collapsed, the Satrap of that time took the title of Beyler-Bey or "Bey of Beys," for himself. The position is hereditary. There is a process in place in the event the ruling House were to die out without a legal heir, the temple of The Spider would auction the position and possession of the palace off to the highest bidding Bey, with the proceeds being split between the temple and city treasury. History Zardezram The Bride of The Spider (Daliah bin-Gozen usurps the rule of Zardezram, renames it Gozenram) Dominion of the Black Sun (Solanshar goes to war with Gozenram but Daliah convinces the city's two champions, the brothers Azar and Azam el-Hake to change sides. They conquer Solanshar, rename it Hakeshar and create the Dominion of the Black Sun.) The Beast The Great Kingdom House of Bleeding Sands (Gozenram joins forces with Hakeshar to revive the Great Kingdom) Shapur Kingfisher (Queslosqi warlord conquers Gozenram) The Ride of Southern Liberation (Invaded by Gilderdammen) Client Towns *Edom *Fairuz *Jumana Notes